Memories
by My Harlequin Romance
Summary: Sometimes memories help us to remember. Other times they cut worst the any weapon. Lu Xun/Masamune Date. One shot


_Well I promised a one-shot and here it is. It couples with the amv I made called __**'Memories'**__ (Which almost had me in tears while making it). This isn't a sequel as such, just a way for me to at least let Masamune have the peace of mind he deserves. Zhen, Tiger. Disclaimer please._

_**Zhen Shao:**__**My Harlequin Romance**__ does not own..._

_**Tiger:**__ Warriors Orochi and anything related to that game. She does however..._

_**Zhen Shao:**__ Own us._

* * *

**Memories**

The rain was beating down hard on the dust ground when Masamune finally turned away from his plans. The dragon wanted to be prepared for his final fight against Orochi but some of his army were worried that Masamune had finally lost it. They were only a small unit. There was no way they could face off against Orochi's forces. The Head General, Tiger and Zhen Shao all had faith that Orochi would fall.

After all, his forces had halved a bit when they had left the Snake King.

All the planning had finally given Masamune a headache and the dragon couldn't help but curse in pain. The door to the meeting room slid open with the tiniest of sounds which Masamune did not pick up on. The dragon kept his eye trained on the wood table, which seemed to have a much more interesting pattern. "Perhaps you should rest My Lord." A small voice suggested. The dragon looked up, wincing a little from his headache and eyed the person at the door.

"Perhaps I should Zhen." he mumbled in reply. Zhen Shao, former warrior for Wu, smiled warmly in reply. Masamune felt a growing pity for the young girl who had lost her sight to an infection weeks before hand. She seemed to have coped just fine and had even managed to join him in battle as his second bodyguard. Although Zhen could not see her enemies anymore, she had gained some other type of sight which had allowed her to strike down those who wished harm on Masamune. The dragon was grateful to have someone like her on his side.

Although her presences often brought painful memories of...

Masamune shook his head. He knew that now would be a bad time to remember _that_ day. _Still,_ Masamune began as his glanced back towards the rain soaked earth. _When it stops raining, perhaps I should visit __**him**__. It's been too long._ Footsteps tore Masamune away from his musing. Both he and Zhen turned to the direction of the footsteps to find the head general running towards the room. He stopped, bowed before Zhen then before Masamune. "What is it?" Masamune gruffly inquried.

"My Lord. Three strange warriors have arrived. They request a place to spend the night." The head general straightened up. "They also wish to talk to you." he informed. Masamune let a low growl escape his lips and tugged at his hair. The dragon finally turned to Zhen who sensed he wanted her attention and bowed.

"Zhen, go and make our guests feel welcome." he began. Zhen nodded her head and rose to her feet. "Take her with you." Masamune ordered the Head general. He nodded as well before leading the little female to their guests.

--

Nu Wa watched in slight amusment as Zhen placed a small cup down. On the other side of the room, Tiger stood and watched. She didn't trust the trio that had suddenly appeared and she was not about to let Zhen stay alone in the room with them. When Zhen had finished her duty, she bowed respectfully and moved silently to the far end of the room. The only sound was the rain lashing against the castle and Tiger whispering to Zhen. Then the dragon entered the room.

Masamune nodded to the two bodyguards who bowed. When Zhen had straightened up, Tiger grabbed her gently by the elbow and led her outside. "Is it not a bad idea to have someone like her still around?" Nu Wa inquried when the bodyguards had gone. Masamne turned to glare at the only female in the room.

"Who are you referring too?" he snapped. The second male of the group, who sat closest to Nu Wa, grumbled under his breath but she did not take any notice. She waited until the dragon had taken a seat before nodding her head towards the door.

"The blind one. Surely she could not only be a burden but a danger as well." Nu Wa commented, hoping this time her point would get across. The four warriors turned their attention towards the door when it slide open a fraction. It appeared that Tiger was about ready to pouce on Nu Wa when a two hands clamped down on the ninja's wrists.

_"Leave it Tiger. She's not worth the trouble."_ Zhen whispered. Letting go with one hand, the wu bodyguard shut the door again. Nu Wa could only smile in amusment. Masamune, on the other hand, turned away slightly. Zhen's words, spoken merely weeks ago, stung his mind.

_"Perhaps I should leave the Date Clan. I am not longer fit to fight for your cause."_

The second male shook his head a little and drew the dragon's attention back to them. "Forgive Nu Wa. I am Fu Xi and our friend is Taigong Wang." Fu Xi nodded towards the second male who had said nothing. Masamune crossed his arms over his chest. His headache was getting worst and all he wanted to do was sleep. Fu Xi seemed to sense Masamune's increasingly growing anger and drove right to point. "We are not asking for much, only a place to spend the night. Tomorrow morning will we leave you and your army." he explained.

Masamune frowned a little. They dressed like warriors so where were they going? "Where will you go in the morning?" Masamune found himself asking. It wasn't as if he was that interested, not him. Fu Xi looked at his friends only to find they were not going to answer. The talking had been left to him. The elder male let out a sigh and turned to look at Masamune. The dragon was getting sleepy.

"It is undecided at the moment. However we could not continue on our journey in such weather." The wind and rain decided to make themselves known and lashed harder against the castle. Masamune merely nodded his head, yawned loudly and stood up.

"Someone will show you to the guest chambers. If you'll excuse me." Masamune muttered and walked quickly to the door. Taigong Wang, who put his empty cup down, decided to speak.

"You're Date Masamune, the famous one-eyed dragon, aren't you." He spoke. Masamune paused and frowned. What kind of imbecile was he not to know that One-eyed Dragon? Taigong Wang took Masamune's silence as a reply. "You're making quiet a name for yourself." he added. Masamune snorted and opened the room door. Almost instancely, both Tiger and Zhen rose to their feet and followed the dragon out of sight. Fu Xi sighed to himself.

"That could have gone better." he muttered. Nu Wa hid her coy smile while Taigong Wang merely shrugged.

--

_"I'm sorry but Lord Masamune is sleeping."_

Masamune jolted awake when he heard voices outside his chamber.

_"But I must speak with him. The message I have to give him is important."_

_"Then you should have told him when you had your meeting with him then."_

Zhen jumped a little when Masamune slid the door to his chamber open. "Lord Masamune, forgive me if I have woken you." Zhen bowed lowly. "I was just sending Master Taigong Wang on his way." she informed. Taigong's mouth was pulled into a firm line as he frowned at the bodyguard. Masamune shot a glare towards the warrior before his attention was turned back to Zhen.

"It's all right Zhen. If he has something important to say, I guess we should humor him for the time being." The dragon sighed. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a little voice told he may regret his action. Zhen frowned again before nodding her head. "Come inside." Masamune ordered and stalked back towards his bed. Taigong stepped inside and sat down in the only chair of the room. Zhen scowled at the warrior before shutting the door. She then sat outside and waited for Tiger to finish her patrol.

"Firsty, I would like to apologize for Nu Wa's comment earlier this evening. It was out of line, even for her." Taigong began. Masamune waved his hand to dimiss the claim. It hadn't bothered him that much. They would be gone by the morning and Masamune wouldn't have to worry about them again. It had hurt Tiger more, that truth was easy to see. Taigong took a deep breath but Masamune decided to speak first.

"So what is so important that it couldn't wait till morning?" The dragon spat. Taigong did not seem afraid or taken back by Masamune's out-burst. Masamune on the other hand wondered why he was showing so much hate and anger to the warrior. _Is it because I don't trust him or because he looks like __**him**__. _Masamune wondered. Taigong licked his lower lip.

"I bring a message for you. The sender did not give me his name only that I should only speak to Date Masamune." he began. The dragon raised an eyebrow but said nothing else. "He said he doesn't blame you. He said--"

"What?" Masamune's blood had run cold. _He_ doesn't blame him? Taigong blinked in confusion. "Who sent the message?" Masamune inquried quickly. The warrior rolled his eyes a little and sighed loudly .

"I told you. I don't know the name of the sender. Will you let me finish?" He questioned. Masamune dumbly nodded his head. "Right. He said he doesn't blame you. That what happened on that day was not your fault." Taigong paused when he saw tears in Masamune's eye. "Masamune? Is something wrong?" Taigong inquried. Masamune however did not speak, too focused on the memory of _that_ day.

_The day he died in my arms._ Masamune thought bitterly. Quickly bringing an arm to his face, the dragon wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'm fine." He snapped although his voice was shaking. "Is that it?" Taigong shook his head.

"No. To him you are not the monster that other's believe you to be." Masamune's eye lower as he continued to stare at the floor.

--

_"Masamune?"_

_No reply._

_"Masamune? What's wrong?"_

_Lu Xun was worried. Tha dragon had refused to even show him his face for an odd reason. The former Wu officer pouted a little. "You wouldn't want to see the other side of a monster." Masamune muttered bluntly. Lu Xun blinked twice before laughing. Masamune glanced side-ways at his beloved. "What?" he inquried. Lu Xun stiffled his chuckles then noticed that Masamune's eye-patch lay on the floor. _

_"You're not a monster. Not to me." Lu Xun began and picked up the eye-patch. He moved the sit in front of Masamune and although the dragon tensed up, Lu Xun would not let him go. For the first time since their relationship Lu Xun had seen what was left of his eye. Masamune was surprised that Lu Xun did not look away or even flinch. "You're just a little different. That's all." Lu Xun smiled. _

_"You're not shocked by what you see?" Masamune inquried. Lu Xun laughed again and shook his head. The dragon watched as Lu Xun gently placed the patch back over his eye and moved silently to tie it back in place. "Honestly?"_

_"I've seen another warrior, Xiahou Dun, with a missing eye. He lost his to an arrow." Lu Xun explained. He smoothed down Masamune's hair before hugging him from behind. "Don't let people tell you, you're a monster. You're not a monster to me."_

--

Taigong noted how quiet Masamune had suddenly gotten. The dragon sniffed a little, cursing at himself for even crying. When the warrior coughed to gain his attention, Masamune wiped his eye and nodded for Taigong to continue. "He also added that even though you feel alone, he will always be there to comfort you." Taigong smiled a little but it did little to effect Masamune. The dragon waited to see if there was anymore to the message. Taigong picked up on this. "Finally, he said that even though you seem dead set on defeating Orochi, he begs you not to go through with it."

Masamune blinked in confusion. If the message had been from Lu Xun, there was no way he could have said that. They had agreed to fight together, to bring peace to the world, to rid the world of Orochi. Masamune growled in his throat. "You're a liar." he hissed.

_"I'm not too sure myself. I know that I want to bring peace to this era."_

Taigong stood up quickly. "No, I wouldn't lie. That is just what he said. That's how the message was worded." Taigong watched as Masamune shook his head feverishly. "Please, you must believe me." Taigong pleaded a little.

_"Masamune, please. Think about the land, the people who are also trapped here. Don't you want to make the world a more peaceful pleace for them?"_

"You're a liar!" Masamune spat harshly. Lu Xun wanted a peaceful era for the villagers trapped here. He wanted Orochi defeated and dead. Why was this guy lying? Taigong only took a step forward, determined to make Masamune see the truth but the dragon was stubborn. He would not believe that _his_ Lu Xun would turn their back on their idea without a good reason. Taigong would not give up, trying to recall the reason.

"He said that--"

Taigong found himself on his back when Masamune pounced on him. The dragon grabbed him by his shirt and shook him. "You don't know Lu Xun! You didn't know him!" Masamune yelled, spittle flying from his mouth. Taigong tried to struggle out of his grasp but nothing was working. The Dragon was simply too strong. "You're a liar! Admit it! You didn't know Lu Xun, you'll never knew him!" Masamune screamed. His hands moved to strangel the life of Taigong in blind rage. The door to the chamber slid open with force.

"My lord!"

Tiger was in first, wreastling her lord away from the warrior. "My lord! Please, calm down!" Tiger urged. Taigong slowly stood up, straightening his shirt. He glanced down to his right when a small hand grasped his elbow gently. "Zhen, please take Master Taigong to his chamber." Tiger ordered as she held Masamune back. Taigong caught sight of tears in both the ninja's and the dragon's eyes. Before he could question further, Zhen dragged Taigong from the room.

Masamune slowly calmed down enough for Tiger to let go of him. The dragon breathed in and flopped back down on his head. Tiger waited silently for a while. "My lord? Are you okay?" she asked. Masamune bit his lip.

"I'm fine!" He snapped but his voice was muffled by his pillow. Tiger, not wanting to upset her lord further, moved silently to the door. She glanced back towards him before slipping into the corridor and closing the door. Words, conversations and memories of days past were whirling in Masamune's mind, increasing the pressure of his headache.

_"How many did you love before me?"_

_**"None."**_

_"And after me?"_

_**"..None."**_

Masamune buried his face further in his pillow and cried.

--

Taigong was amazed at how fast Zhen could walk. She dragged the warior behind her as she used the wall to guide her. "Will Masamune be all right?" Taigong decided to ask. Anything to break the silence.

"No."

Taigong frowned. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset him it's just I needed to relay that message." Taigong explained. Zhen stopped suddenly in the darkened corridor and sighed loudly.

"What you said back there...wasn't the most wisest thing to say." Zhen began. Memories of her lord swirled in her brain. "The death of Lord Lu Xun is still a fresh wound. It needs time to heal. Ripping open the scab will not do it any good." Zhen muttered. Taigong waited as Zhen composed herself. The former wu bodyguard grabbed his wrist and led him the rest of the way towards his chamber.

"But what I said was true. I didn't think Masamune would lose his head over the truth." Taigong muttered. This time they had reached his chamber when Zhen came to a sudden stop again. She spun round to face Taigong. The warrior couldn't help but shiver under her gaze.

"No. What you said at the end was a lie. Lord Lu Xun and Lord Masamune were going to make this place better for the villagers trapped here. They were going to bring peace to this war-torn land by defeating Orochi. If Sima Yi had not taken my lord's life then they would be planning there next move right now." Zhen sighed and moved past Taigong. "I hope you enjoy your stay here Master Taigong. Even if it is a short one." she threw over her shoulder. Taigong watched her figure disappear in the darkness before entering his own chamber.

Zhen on the other hand had barely gotten away from Taigong's chamber when she crumbled against the wall and cried.

_"I know Zhen. I know deep down that Lord Sun Ce and his family are doing fine. However every time I try to think of them, I find myself thinking of Masamune Date."_

Zhen quickly wiped away her tears and hurried back to her post. She only hoped that Masamune had calm down enough to sleep. When Zhen returned to her post, Tiger smiled sadly at Zhen. "How is Lord Masamune?" Zhen inquried. Tiger sighed.

"Not good. He refuses to show it but it still hurts him. He's finally gone to sleep now." Tiger informed. Zhen sat next to Tiger and sighed a little to herself. She knew that they all were having memories of Lu Xun and every single one still cut through them like a knife.

* * *

_Well, whatcha think? Now that I look back, I don't think I did give Masamune any peace of mind._

_**Tiger:**__ Some creator you are.__**Zhen:**__ Azumi, hush._

_Well R&R!_


End file.
